Chapter 115: Rain of Fire

One bamboo ladder after another toppled over, and the roving bandits fell back in disarray. At last, a burst of bronze gongs rang out — the foot soldiers fled in panic, leaving several dozen dead and wounded beneath the wall. Some of the bandits who escaped sat or sprawled on Zilai Street, most of them injured by stones.

On the east wall, cheers thundered; the community soldiers were jubilant. This wave of bandits had performed so poorly that the community soldiers felt their own strength was immense, and that the roving bandits were nothing special after all.

Pang Yu heard someone nearby loudly rallying the community soldiers — all of them Government Student from Tongcheng. They were assisting the gentry of the east sector, led by Wang Wenyao. There were ten Government Students in total, deployed at intervals along the entire east wall, and they kept drilling into the community soldiers how vicious the roving bandits were.

The refugees who had entered the city yesterday brought news of the massacres in Chao County and Lujiang, and from last night until now, word had spread throughout Tongcheng. Pang Yu hoped to transform the people's fear into fighting spirit, and these Government Students before him had indeed played a certain role.

That thousand-odd roving bandits helped up their wounded and, amid the loud jeers of the community soldiers on the wall, retreated back toward Zilai Bridge. Then those red-clad bowmen who had been shooting arrows also withdrew in succession. It seemed the roving bandits had no other tricks left.

Outside the city, the roving bandits continued to set up camp. Their cavalry scattered into the countryside to let the horses drink and graze. The bandit infantry arrayed below the wall were left to their own devices. Across the city moat, the bandit leader under the yellow banner stayed where he was, constantly conferring with the two men beside him.

Pang Yu felt somewhat more at ease. The community soldiers, who formed the main force, had high morale and had not scattered in the face of danger. The battles to come should be easier to fight. He hoped the roving bandits would recognize the difficulty and withdraw soon.

The bandits' first assault today had posed almost no threat. In Pang Yu's imagination, a city assault should be like in The Lord of the Rings — with siege towers taller than the walls, catapults, battering rams, and the like. If that were the case, Tongcheng would probably be hard to defend. But it seemed the roving bandits were indeed a light-infantry force; their equipment consisted of bamboo ladders made from local materials.

If this was their level, then Pang Yu believed Tongcheng was basically secure. In ancient times, taking a city meant surmounting the walls. The bandits' means of attack today were one-dimensional and insufficient to overcome the city wall.

Throughout the entire afternoon, the roving bandits launched no further attacks. But another group of red-clad men crossed the bridge, most of them carrying bows — even more archers than the first batch. In the same manner, they dispersed in small groups into Zilai Street. Then some foot soldiers carrying shoulder poles began shuttling back and forth between the two riverbanks, likely delivering supplies to these archers. As for the archers' purpose, Pang Yu figured they were meant to control Zilai Street and prevent the defenders from crossing the river for a night raid — though, of course, Pang Yu had never entertained such an idea.

Nightfall gradually descended. Above Tongcheng, the high lamps were all lit, and many more lanterns were added. Since the Spring Festival had just passed, the city had a huge number of lanterns, illuminating the entire city wall until it was as bright as day.

Below the wall, meals began to be delivered. The community soldiers ate right on the wall and took turns resting in the grass depots. An endless stream of commoners brought bricks, stones, lime pots, and other supplies up to the wall; even women and children were helping to carry them. The whole of Tongcheng was mobilized to defend their homes.

In the open wilderness outside the city, the lights blazed just as brilliantly. Countless campfires and lanterns spread like a sky full of stars, stretching from the East Suburb all the way to the South Suburb. The sheer scale of the roving bandits far exceeded anything Pang Yu had imagined.

Inside their camp, human shadows flickered, and the unceasing sound of wood being hammered rang out — whether they were building camp or manufacturing siege equipment, he could not tell.

Pang Yu made a full circuit along the city wall to inspect the situation on the other three sides.

On the North Wall, that bandit cavalry unit had climbed Guanye Cliff at the northwest corner in the afternoon. The summit there was higher than the city wall. That they had made a beeline for this spot clearly indicated they had obtained prior intelligence, or had a guide nearby who knew this was a weak point in the city's defenses.

The wooden platform Pang Yu had insisted on building during the Spring Festival now proved its worth. The archers of the Zhuang Squad, relying on the platform's height, contained the roving bandits on Guanye Cliff and prevented them from dominating the wall. After probing for a while and finding no advantage, those bandit cavalrymen left Guanye Cliff. Casualties on both sides were very light.

The bandits south of the city merely shot arrows at the wall and rode all the way around to the West Gate. Only after the bronze gongs sounded in the east did they withdraw to their camp stockade.

On each of these walls was an official: Zhou County Deputy on the west wall, Yang Erming on the south wall, and Xu Chief Clerk on the north wall. Many community elders and gentry were also assisting on the walls — Jiang Zhihuai, Jiang Chen, Yao Feisun, Fang Wen, and others were all on the wall. These men were not physically strong, but they all enjoyed good reputations among the common people and wielded considerable influence over the community soldiers, playing a backbone role in the city defense.

This was different from the time of civil unrest. Back then, the commoners, gentry, and yamen had been at odds with one another, mainly over conflicts of interest. But now, facing the roving bandits, officials and people shared a bitter hatred of the same enemy. The news from Chao County and Lujiang made it clear: once the bandits broke through, officials and commoners alike would be destroyed together, jade and stone burned as one.

Thus, relations between officials and people were harmonious this time. The county yamen received unanimous support from all levels of society. When Yang Erming arrived at Xiangyang Gate, though his face was haggard, there was a trace of solace amid his exhaustion.

Accompanying him was Zhou County Deputy. He had been on duty on the west wall today. Although some bandits had passed by, no fighting had occurred. If the bandits were repelled just like this, he would face no danger yet still earn merit for defending the city. He looked upon Pang Yu with particular favor.

The young County Magistrate had been wearing a stern expression, but upon seeing Pang Yu, he immediately broke into a smile. "Pang Squad Leader's contingency plans can be called meticulous. But the bandits retreated empty-handed today; they will certainly come again tomorrow. We must not slacken on the wall."

"Your subordinate understands," Pang Yu replied, cupping his hands. "None of the community soldiers will leave the wall. By taking turns resting at night, we can preserve their strength. The bandits just arrived today; although their first attack failed, they are numerous after all. I expect they will have to try again tomorrow no matter what, and in greater numbers than today."

Yang Erming pointed at Wang Wenyao not far away. "The gentry donate silver and goods, the commoners eagerly defend the city — the will of the people is clear at a glance. There is absolutely no reason to let those roving bandits succeed."

"As Your Excellency says. After today's victory, the commoners have gained confidence. The gentry on the east wall supervising the battle today truly helped a great deal."

Yang Erming frowned again and said, "Speaking of which, the yamen has been outdone by the gentry this time. Before the Spring Festival, when collecting the grain tax in kind, I specifically instructed them to store more grain in preparation for defending the city. Yet the day before yesterday, when we readied for battle, the Reserve Granary and Fengyu Granary were still utterly empty, without a single grain. The treasury is likewise bare. I, I…"

His face was full of indignation, his young features making no attempt to hide his emotions. Though he did not say it outright, it was clear he was furious with the Household Office and the various granaries.

Pang Yu was not too worried about grain and silver. The grain shops in the city had grain, and the gentry had donated silver — the rewards he had promised on the wall today were paid from that silver. Even if the Reserve Granary and Fengyu Granary were empty, it would not affect the city's defenses.

He was, instead, somewhat worried for Tang Weimin. Tang had been indulgent toward Yuan Granary Inspector and his lot, and if he was still eyeing the granary stores at a time like this, he would surely provoke Yang Erming's wrath.

Zhou County Deputy, who was on passable terms with Tang Weimin, did not respond to this. Pang Yu hastily changed the subject. "I imagine the Reserve Granary and Fengyu Granary have long been plagued by abuses; it is not something that just happened now. Fortunately, the roving bandits will not stay long, and the grain in the city should be sufficient."

Yang Erming gazed out at the sea of lanterns beyond the wall and let out a long sigh. "I only pity the commoners outside the city. Before nightfall, I saw some people in the South Suburb being captured by the cavalry. I wonder if they can keep their lives."

Pang Yu did not answer. Quite a few commoners had also been seized in the East Suburb, and even on Zilai Street yesterday there had been many. After the bandits' surprise attack on Xiangyang Gate failed, they had searched Zilai Street and found over a hundred people — all of them people who had stayed home and stubbornly refused to enter the city.

The county yamen's original plan had been that once a clear warning was received, these commoners would naturally come into the city. In the end, no warning came. The bandits launched a surprise attack, all the city gates were shut, and these people became turtles in a jar.

Pang Yu found it hard to understand these people, who had paid no heed whatsoever to the bandits' approach. Many of them had refused to enter the city because they feared the yamen would take the opportunity to burn their houses. They had wailed and lamented then, and in the end, they had successfully preserved their houses. Now, captured by the bandits, they were still wailing and lamenting on Zilai Street — but this time, no one cared about their feelings anymore.

He did not wish to speak of these people either. There were tens of thousands of bandits and thousands of cavalry outside the city; the Tongcheng Zhuang Squad had no ability to rescue anyone. Bringing them up would only invite frustration. If he had known this would happen, he should have locked Liu Xiucai inside the Eastern Prosperity Tower and left him for these bandits.

Zhou County Deputy probably did not want to dwell on it either. He changed the subject. "Pang Squad Leader, what is your estimate of the total number of roving bandits outside the city?"

Pang Yu pointed to the northeast, where a hazy glow lit the horizon. "Your Excellency, see how the light over there is brighter than elsewhere? There must be follow-up bandit forces camping on the official road. Combined with those already outside the city, they definitely exceed forty thousand."

Zhou County Deputy drew a sharp breath and was speechless for a moment.

Pang Yu reassured him. "Though they are many, their effective fighters are likely those led by the red-clad ones. The ones who attacked the city today had mediocre combat strength. No matter how many come, they cannot take our Tongcheng. Please rest assured, Your Excellency."

Yang Erming pointed beyond the wall and declared loudly, "We, officials and people, are of one heart — we shall surely defeat those roving bandits!"

……

Before the midnight, the bandits' main camp gradually dimmed, and the fields around Tongcheng returned to calm.

The city wall remained brightly lit. Pang Yu had just completed his second night patrol and returned to the city tower at Dongzuo Gate. He intended to rest as well. By his estimate, the bandits' attack could only last five days at most. Today was only the first day; he still needed to hold out for four more. He had to get enough rest to have the energy to handle the assaults during the day.

Before entering the tower, Pang Yu glanced toward Zilai Street and suddenly sensed something wrong. He stopped at once. Flames flickered on Zilai Street — dozens of fire points had appeared in quick succession. In the firelight, he could see countless shifting black figures.

Pang Yu shouted, "Beat the gongs and prepare for battle!"

Before the nearby Runners could strike the gongs, dense points of light rose before Pang Yu's eyes. They streaked across the sky, tracing bright arcs all over the night. Some shot straight at the hanging curtains on the wall; others were arcing rockets aimed at the grass depots on the wall. The sound of thudding impacts was unceasing. The hanging curtains and grass depots struck by the rockets soon began to burn, and thick smoke billowed across the wall.

On Zilai Street, the twang of bowstrings merged into a continuous roar, with almost no pause. Pang Yu estimated that at least several hundred archers were launching a night raid. Hiding behind the buildings, they lit their rockets from braziers and fired at an extremely rapid rate. In a very short time, at least three thousand rockets had been shot at the east wall, and nearly all the hanging curtains on the wall were on fire.

The wall was in chaos, wreathed in thick smoke. The community soldiers on duty were frantically trying to put out the fires. There was one water vat for every ten arrow crenels, but it was almost useless against so many fire points.

When the hanging curtains were first designed, they had been tested with cloth, and the wooden frames were built to those specifications. Several layers of folded thick cloth, soaked in water and hung on the frames, could resist fire attacks. But after the frames were made, they discovered they did not have that much cloth, so they substituted cotton quilts. However, once soaked, the quilts weighed several hundred jin and would quickly collapse the wooden frames. So they had simply hung them dry, which still served to block arrows. This one oversight now led to disastrous consequences.

"Move the fire thunders and fire pots out of the grass depots!" Pang Yu shouted to both sides. Everywhere in his field of vision, rockets were flying, dazzlingly bright in the pitch-black night.

Panicked shouts filled the city wall. Pang Yu turned to the parapet and looked. On the north and south walls, flames were flickering as well. The bandits had clearly targeted the hanging curtains. At least half of them were burning, and because they were hung on the outside of the arrow crenels, many would probably be impossible to save.

Pang Yu had never imagined that the roving bandits could organize such a large-scale military operation at night. For a moment, he was at a loss.

The urgent clang of bronze gongs rang out everywhere. The two squads of yamen runners waiting on Dongzuo Gate Street began hauling water up to the wall, but Pang Yu doubted it would do much good.

At that moment, a wave of panicked screams erupted on the wall. Pang Yu looked up and saw that the bandits were firing from even closer. Having finished their attack on the hanging curtains, they were using the buildings below as cover to approach the wall and shoot over it into the city.

Countless rockets pierced through the thick smoke above the wall, rising into the sky and turning into a rain of fire that poured down into the city. Flames sprang up everywhere at the foot of the wall.